A Few Glasses Down
by thatirishfox
Summary: After an injury that resulted in the amputation of her legs below the knees, Judy has essentially given up, pushed away everyone, and drowns her sorrows every night in a bar. However, she receives the motivation to turn her life back around from the last mammal she expected to care. Rated T for some language and a mention of violence and blood. ((Updated with Re-written chapters))
1. Chapter 1

A Few Glasses Down (Title by Silver Dust)

Chapter 1

Bogo pushes the flimsy door to the seedy bar open and steps in, the bar's air hazy with the heavy cigarette smoke. His chest heaves out a heavy cough as the acrid air fills his lungs and stung his eyes. He perseveres, however, eyes darting around until he spots a small gray bunny that is sitting in a wheelchair at a table in the most remote corner of the bar. Bogo frowns when the icy touch of a radiating sadness spread in his chest. He finds himself stopping dead in his tracks, seeing what used to be his star officer and an inextinguishable ray of energy and sunshine: Judy Hopps.

Regarding her for a moment, unsure of what it is that he is doing here, even thinking of turning around and leaving when he hears her voice: "Didn't expect to see you here chief..."

"Wilde told me I'd find you here." He says, his voice gruff, even when he was trying to sound gentle. He comes around the table and sits himself across from her, grimacing when he sees that she was already well into her nightly ritual. That is, if the many empty shot glasses and a half empty wolf-sized bottle of whiskey on the table was any indication. When he looks up, he could see that her normally sparkling violet eyes were void and blank, almost like she has given up on life.

"Come here to judge me, kick me while I am down? Hell, maybe even give me parking duty?" She says wryly, downing another of her shots. He flattens his ears back, forcing himself to keep that gruff expression of his on his muzzle, if only to keep others from eavesdropping on them out of fear of angering the buffalo.

"Hopps...What are you doing here? This isn't you." He says, watching her. A year ago, she would not even go near a bottle of liquor, let alone spend her night in a bar and getting drunk. However, after the accident, that all changed rather quickly.

"Is now..." She says, shrugging. Making him snort lightly in irritation but making sure to bite his tongue, fighting the urge to snap at her. Instead, he lets out a sigh and forces his voice to stay calm.

"The old Hopps would be at the precinct, most likely causing me a mountain of paperwork by dismantling some corrupt official's regime." he replies, his expression unchanged.

"Yeah, well the old 'Hopps' would still have her legs." She grumbles, thumping one of her stumps against the table to accent her point, which admittedly made him jump lightly. He opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off when she starts speaking again. "You know...It's funny...I still feel my legs...I'm wiggling my toes right now and I can feel them." She says, eyes watering as glances down to where her legs have been amputated below the knees. "I can feel them and they aren't there." She whimpers, on the verge of breaking into sobs.

He let out a tired sigh, carefully mulling over his words. "Hopps...Many officers have been hurt in the line of duty, or made one mistake to bring them to drown their sorrows here...God knows I have-" he starts, only for her to cut him off again.

"With all due respect, chief...This isn't a fucking bullet to the shoulder or being unable to talk a jumper off a ledge...I highly doubt that any other officer had to deal with getting their legs ripped off by a polar bear like they were twigs." She snaps, pouring another drink and downing it quickly.

He could only stare at her, a knowing expression on his face as he could remember that day all too well. He was working in his office as usual, mostly handling some of the day-to-day paperwork when Clawhauser burst into his office with a loud crash from his door, the cheetah's normally cheery demeanor replaced with a pale look, almost as if he were sick. The first instinct that hit was to yell at the unofficial mascot, but before he could, he had been cut off by the news that Officers Wilde and Hopps are down.

All he was able to get out of the frantic report was that after a blow from a suspect knocked out Wilde, Judy ran after him to try to take him down with a Taser. Unfortunately, the bear managed to grab her by the ears and proceeds to rip the bunny's feet off with his bare paws, dropping her bleeding on the sidewalk. Thankfully, the backup she requested managed to get to her in time to stop the bleeding and to call an ambulance.

In his decades of service to the ZPD, he's been exposed to things that have left him hardened, emotionless, and even cynical, but even he couldn't deny the utter heartbreak and the feeling of helplessness when he was sitting by her bedside, watching the look of horror and then anguish spread across her features when she ripped the blankets off of her to look at what remained of her legs.

He let out another sigh, his normal scowl disappearing and his visage changing into one that he has never let anyone else see before: sadness. He notes the look of surprise the bunny gives him when she watches his face visibly soften, no doubt seeing the wrinkles around his eyes and the graying of his muzzle much clearer.

"You're right Hopps, you may very well be the only one who had to go through that. However, you are not the first Officer maimed in the line of duty. He tugs up his shirt, showing her the long scar that runs along his side, one given to him as a patrol officer. He nods at her wide-eyed expression. "I got this when I was a rookie, two years out of the academy in fact. Got a call about a rabid tiger and we had to deal with it. I was young, foolish even, I wanted to show off to my superiors and went after him by myself and got this to show for it. The paramedics had to stuff my entrails back into me and I was lucky to survive." He lowers his shirt again and interrupts her when she opens her mouth. "Did you know that Delgato got into a fight with a rhino and had to have his skull reassembled with steel plates and has a glass eye? Wolford had a shot go through his spine and should be paralyzed from the waist down. Higgins had one of his legs blown off with a shotgun and has to walk with a prosthetic… You know what we all have in common Hopps?" He let his expression become more stoic when she shook her head. "We all had injuries that should have ended our careers right there, but we picked ourselves up and said: 'Fuck the odds.' and we worked hard to heal ourselves."

He watches her as she stares down into her glass, letting her process this. He doesn't react when he sees the tears well in her eyes as the shame starts to cross her face. "I-I had no idea… but I don't know if I can ever come back from this… I mean, what is it that you want from me?"

He sighs and mulls it over for a minute. "I'll make you a deal Hopps. Give me one year. Just one year of working hard and proving to yourself what I already know. If you are not fit for duty after the year, I will never bother you again and you will be free to sit on your ass and drink away your pension. Think about it and if you agree, call me tomorrow at my office." He says, standing up and shoving his chair under the table. He turns to walk out, but stops, looking over his shoulder, "And Hopps…just remember this… you have family at the ZPD, we all share in your pain and we all miss you dearly. It just isn't the same without you there…" With that, he turns and walks out, pretending not to hear Judy's meek 'Thank you chief.' He takes a much-needed breath of clean air and clears his throat, pulling out his phone to check the time as he walks to his car. He takes one more look at the door of the bar and lets out a sigh. "She'll call…" he says to himself before starting his car to drive off into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

A Few Glasses Down

Chapter 2

Judy could hardly believe herself. Even in her inebriated state, she couldn't help but feel shame about how she's been acting, thinking she's the only one who's suffered like this. She looked down into the bottom of the shot glass she had been drinking out of, seeing the amber whiskey stare at her and taunt her. With tears welling in her eyes, she shoves the glass away from her, not flinching when it clatters onto the floor noisily. She looks up to Bogo, expecting to see his usual berating look but is surprised to see a gentle, almost paternal expression, almost like a father counseling a daughter. "I-I had no idea. But I don't know if I can ever come back from this." She pauses, her brow furrowing, "I mean, what do you want from me?"

She waits, her heart thudding against her chest and she jumps when he suddenly speaks again. "I'll make you a deal Hopps. Give me one year. Just one year of working hard and proving to yourself what I already know. If you aren't fit for duty after the year, I'll never bother you again and you'll be free to sit on your ass and drink away your pension. Think about it and if you agree, call me tomorrow at my office." She stares at him, wonder in her eyes as he stands. Shaking herself from her reverie, she reaches into her pocket to find some money for her drinks only to stop when he speaks up again. "And Hopps, just remember this…you have family at the ZPD, we all share in your pain and we all miss you dearly. It just isn't the same without you there…"

She starts to cry at that, not even once since the accident wondering what her fellow officers and especially what Nick felt when they watched her slowly withdraw into herself. "Th-thank you chief." she says softly, her voice barely a squeak and she isn't even sure that he is even listening to her. She just watches as he walks out into the cool night air, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Part of her wants to just not bother, feeling as if she knows that it is impossible for her to succeed. However, a voice she hasn't heard in a long time speaks up, practically yelling from the back of her brain. It is the voice of her young, starry-eyed self as a kit and it reminded her that she never knew when to quit, so why should it be any different now. With a look of determination, she slaps the money onto the table and pushes her wheelchair out of the bar, heading to her apartment to get herself cleaned up and prepared for the long road ahead of her.

When she wakes the next morning, she finds herself nursing a hangover and staring at her phone, unsure of if she should call or should just sleep till the evening so that she could go down to the bar to wallow in her misery yet again. The voice in her head made it quickly know that it isn't going to tolerate that attitude and yells at her, telling her that she can't give up, not when there's still a chance for her to continue her dream. After a few hours of arguing with the voice, she finally relents and, picks up the phone to dial in Bogo's direct line, almost hanging up after the third ring but stops when she hears his gruff voice on the other end: "Chief Bogo."

She stays silent a moment, unsure of what to say despite the occasional 'Hello?' on the other end and finally she steels herself to say: "Chief…it's Judy. I'll give you a year." She listens intently as his tone changes from annoyed to actually sounding pleased while letting her know he'll be by in an hour to pick her up, he has something already planned for when she said yes.

Sure enough, an hour came by quickly, and she watches as his personal cruiser stops in front of her building, the engine letting out a growl as it idles angrily. He steps out and with a surprising level of gentleness, he picks her up in his arms and places her into the front passenger seat along with her wheelchair before getting back into the driver's seat to speed off towards the precinct.

She sits in silence for a few moments, feeling a bit awkward still. "Um…so what's the big thing you have planned?" she asks, looking up to see that trademark scowl on his face that sends shivers down just about any mammal's spine.

He remains quiet, turning the cruiser towards the police building and heading down a side road that runs towards the back of the building instead of pulling into the garage like normal. Judy recognizes it as being the entrance to the crime labs and she couldn't help but show a bit of confusion on her face. Before she could say anything, he speaks up. "When you had your accident, I assumed that you would be itching to get back into the saddle, so I had our weapon techs design you a set of prosthetics that would let you function normally as an officer. He built them but we didn't expect you to lose your fire like you did, so they've been sitting in the prototype vault for a while."

She looked down at her stumps, looking admittedly embarrassed that they went through all that trouble only for her to disappoint them. She didn't get to answer before he got out of the car and just as gently before, he lowers her into the wheelchair before leading them to the weapons labs. Once in there, they see a very eccentric looking wolf whom she didn't recognize though she did recognize the last name on his coat that said 'Wolfson' as she has sent numerous emails to him for various cases. The wolf greets them eagerly, taking a second to gush about how he is a huge fan of her before he leads them down a hallway towards a room marked as a demonstration room. Once inside, she sees a set of peculiar looking prosthetics sitting on a small pedestal table. They look like they are straight out of a science fiction film in their design, as if they belong to a robot. Looking them over, she sees that they start as any other prosthetic, a grey plastic sleeve for her legs. Moving her eyes down, she sees the design shift dramatically thanks to a square aluminum tubing that make up a reverse-articulated framing, similar to the way her legs would naturally be shaped below the knee. They end on a small rubber hoof that would act like she was standing up on the pads of her feet instead of the flats of them. The weirdest feature was the long carbon fiber leaf spring that ran from the back of the plastic sleeve down to attach at the "heel" of the hoof. She couldn't help but tilt her head, wondering how these weird feet would help her. She looked up Bogo, and pouts when he lets out a low chuckle.

"Don't worry Hopps, Red here is about to explain." He says with a gentle smile, gesturing to the rather eagerly grinning wolf.

"Gladly Chief! Officer Hopps, given that rabbits have a unique physiology, it's tough having to create a prosthetic that would be light enough while still remaining strong enough to allow you to run at your normal speed and jump at your normal height. The solution, we found, is the leaf spring here. The whole design mimics the mechanics of the muscles, tendons, and bones in a bunny's legs. The spring will essentially absorb the impact of the hoof to the ground which will push the spring back and give you a good running speed. Heck, I'd dare say you'd be able to run even faster if you got good at moving in them. Jumping should be about the same, you'll just bounce a little more on the landing. The only drawback is that you will be a few inches taller." The wolf says, clapping his paws together when he finishes. "If you're ready, Officer Hopps, we can make the fine adjustments to the support sleeves and get you up and walking."

She sits there a moment, just staring at what would essentially become part of her very being. She looked up, noticing the anxious expressions of the two larger mammals and finally released the breath she had been holding. "O-okay. Let's do this."

Red claps his paws again, grabbing the prosthetics and sliding them onto her legs. She was amazed at how well the seemed to fit, even if Red took a heat gun to make a few final adjustments and mold them properly around her stumps. "Okay, you won't be able to wear your standard uniform with these, so I made ones with pants that is at least similar, should let you stay comfortable." Red says, his tail wagging. "In the meantime, let's get you to take a few steps." He murrs, helping her up on the new "feet".

It is awkward for her at first, feeling herself wobble and sway on the hooves. Normally if she sands up on her pads, she is able to feel out her footing, but walking on the rubber hoofs is almost worlds different. She holds on tightly to Red's paws, slowly but surely moving her leg forward to take her first step. She is amazed at how light the feel, almost as if had been born with them.

"Excellent Officer Hopps! Another." Red says with a grin that she finds to be infectious. She looked over and sees Bogo is making no effort to hide the grin he is wearing and she could not help but let out a giggle. She quickly returns her gaze to Red and takes another step, then another, and another until she was taking slow but steady laps around the room without much help. Eventually though, she finds herself growing weary, her legs sore from the exertion that they have not known in many months. She sits back in her wheelchair, panting lightly but a small and excited giggle escaping her lips. For the first time in months, she feels happy, almost like her old self.

"You did excellent today Officer Hopps," Red says, "We have a long road ahead of us but if your progress keeps up, we'll have you chasing the bad guys in no time!" Red's tail wagging as he goes to take off the prosthetics. "C-could I keep them on? I want to walk out of here." She says, paws moving to stop the wolf's paws. The wolf smiles knowingly and pulls out a cane that he quickly adjusts for her new height. "I thought you might, here, just take it easy and I'll see you tomorrow."

She smiles and takes the cane into her paws, Bogo kindly picking up her wheelchair and following behind her, staying at her own pace as she gets more and more used to the prosthetics. She smiles and waves to officers she recognizes, even getting a hug from Francine who is quick to scoop her up in her muscular trunk.

By the time she made it home, she is as determined as ever, ready to turn her life back around and to prove that she did not know when to quit. She carefully pulls off her prosthetics, leaning them on the wall by her bed and went over the instructions that Red had given her about their care and maintenance. She feels her eyes widen as they detail the strict regimen she is to undergo in order to get her back up to law enforcement standards. When she finishes reading through the materials, it is late into the night. She lets out a rather large yawn for a bunny and curls up in her bed, feeling better than she has in a long time and her last thought before drifting to sleep is how eager she is to start her training.

1 Year Later:

She wakes up promptly at 5:30 to the sound of her alarm, starting her morning ritual by slipping on her modified uniform, then her prosthetics, sliding the legs of the uniform over the plastic sleeves to cover them. She stand up tall, checking herself in the mirror and giving her badge a quick polish before grabbing her keys and heading out the door.

When she arrives at the ZPD Headquarters, she stops to look up at the building she has been away from for a year and a half. With a quick breath to steel herself, she walks up the steps, through the revolving door, and into the spacious lobby that is bustling with life. Much to her relief, she has not been noticed yet so she walks up to the front desk, finding Clawhauser with his usual bowl of sugary cereal. He did not seem to notice her at first until she speaks up which results in him letting out a squeal before scrambling over the desk to scoop her up in a tight hug.

"OH EM GOODNESS JUDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" he squeals, attracting the attention of everyone nearby. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" he adds, starting to sob happily.

"Nnnhh…m-missed y-you too Claw…hauser…b-but can't b-breathe…." She groans under the cheetah's embrace, managing to squirm free and smile up at him. She straightens out her uniform while he slowly saunters back behind his desk to look her up and down.

"Look at you, got your legs back and you look better than ever." He says with a chuckle, leaning over the counter. "Everyone missed you girl, especially Nick. He and McHorn don't seem to have the same chemistry you two did."

"Wow, Bogo put him with McHorn? Didn't see that one coming." She says with a chuckle, trying to picture Nick working with the large Rhino. Most of what she finds herself imagining involving Nick deflating each time the stoic Rhino ignored his quips.

"Yeah, it's almost hilarious." He says, glancing at the clock and gasping. "Oh, you're gonna be late for roll call! Don't wanna piss the chief off on your first day back!"

She leaps up and takes off, shouting: "ByeClawhauserseeyoulater!" and skipping off to the bullpen, ignoring some of the whispers and ramblings that she heard on the way.

She steels herself in front of the bullpen door, heart pounding in her chest as she reaches for the small mammal doorknob and pushes the door open. The normally rowdy room suddenly quiets when everyone sees who came in. She gulps and started walking towards the chair that she always shares with Nick, the only sound being the 'click-clack' of her prosthetics tapping on the floor. About halfway up the room, an officer she has never met before, a Wildebeest, stands up and starts clapping his hooves slowly. Suddenly, McHorn stands, clapping his hooves together, then Francine, then Wolford, and eventually the entire room fills with a cacophony of applause that made Judy's heart swell and a blush tint her ears dark pink as a smile spreads across her face.

She reaches her chair, and with a small bounce, leaps up into it to seat herself next to Nick, who wrapped his arms tightly around her in a tender hug, his breaths shaky as he fought the urge to cry. "If anyone could get through to you, I knew Ol' Buffalo Butt could." He whispers, making Judy smile softly.

"Oh you Foxes, so emotional." She says teasingly, breaking the hug just in time to see Bogo taking his place at the podium and silencing the rowdy room.

"Alright, shut it! We have one of our veterans back with us today, Officer Hopps." The water buffalo says, actually smiling as the room erupts into cheers, hoots, howls, and shouts. The Chief let it go on a moment before shouting again. "Alright, Alright, come on who cares?" the room quiets down, a few chuckles echoing as it settled down. "Now for the day's assignments. Officers McHorn and Wolford, you…"

Judy let out a sigh as everything starts to feel relatively normal again. She even wiggled eagerly in her chair, ready to take on the day's assignment and perks her ears when Bogo directs his voice to them. "Officers Wilde and Hopps…" He gives a rather dramatic pause. "Parking duty."

"WHAT?!" She and Nick shout in unison, the rest of the room erupting in laughter.

Despite, that, she still smiles and lets out a soft giggle, it is so good to be back.

~End


End file.
